Pequot Lakes at Crosby-Ironton

Recap

The Pequot Lakes Patriots won their fifth straight over the Crosby-Ironton Rangers, also ending the Rangers 13-game win streak to begin the ’21-’22 season.

Pequot Lakes lead nearly wire-to-wire in this matchup, but it was back-and-forth all the way through. Each team had small runs in the first half, where the Patriots twice had a lead as much as eight. The Rangers ended the half on an 8-2 run to close the gap to 28-26 at the break.

After a couple tie scores to begin the second half, the Patriots would take the lead for good. Two 7-0 runs pushed the lead to 11 at 44-33 with about 12:30 to go. The Rangers found themselves building a comeback again, cutting the Patriots’ lead to three at 47-44 with just over six to play. Pequot Lakes was able to maintain the advantage, and eventually pulled away with clutch free throw shooting.

The Rangers struggled to hit from deep, as the only two three-pointers made came in the final 21 seconds. Both teams’ post players shined, with Sam Rysavy for Pequot Lakes leading the way with 22. Jordan Oehrlein led all scorers with 28 for the Rangers.

Pequot Lakes improves to 9-3 overall, 1-1 in the MSC and travels to St. Cloud Cathedral Tuesday. Crosby-Ironton falls for the first time this year, dropping to 13-1, also 1-1 in the MSC and they travel up to International Falls Saturday afternoon.

Team Stats: Turnovers – PL 11, CI 13; Rebounds (off.) – PL 35 (10), CI 33 (9); Free Throws – PL 20/24, CI 14/19.

C-I Leaders: Jordan Oehrlein 28 pts (6/6 FT); Carsen Turk 19 pts, 3 assts; Will Meyer 12 pts
PL Leaders: Sam Rysavy 22 pts (6/6 FT); Eli Laposky 17 pts, 2 assts, 2 stls; Ryan Harmala 9 pts, Cruz Megazzini 8 pts, Grand Loge 6 pts

Postgame Interview with PL Coach Rich Spiczka: